Zhao Lu Si Kicks Off Her Producer Phase with Short Form C-drama Sonder: I am Not NPC with Friends and Same Agency Actresses in Cast
As expected and discussed, since big budget C-dramas heading into production are few and far between, C-actress Zhao Lu Si is now adding producer and director to her resume with the production of her first self-financed drama. It’s titled Sonder: I am Not NPC with the tagline “I am the protagonist in my life script!” and deals with four women who find their lives mirroring a story. Zhao Lu Si is not acting in it and the four leads are either her actress friends or actresses in the same agency as her, and even her own dad has a cameo role in the drama. None of the cast or crew are taking a salary but will get a cut of any of the profit after operating expenses are deducted, thereby making it even more of an incentive for the cast and crew to promote the heck out of this to drive views. Zhao Lu Si’s own casting concerns aside, this confirms even more that the days of long form high quality big budget C-dramas is nearing extinction in the next few years.
Got to say super odd but really short dramas replacing long dramas? I get maybe there is a struggle on their home front but I’m sure internationally they could make it work but what do I know 🤷🏻♀️. I feel short ones are so meh 🫤 though but then again Long ones tend to drag things though. Hope The industry finds their way through it.
I honestly think the short-drama takeover is partly of the long-form drama industry’s own doing. Casting keeps circulating within the same circles, even when certain actors clearly don’t fit the role. Some don’t even seem to have read the source material, yet even when the final product falls below expectations, the same people keep getting cast within those circles. At some point, audiences are going to look elsewhere.
But I really hope long-form dramas reform instead of disappearing, because if even those four actresses are going to leading in short dramas, then what’s the difference between a celebrity and a non-celebrity anymore? Some of these short-drama faces just don’t have the screen presence or visual appeal I expect from a lead.
An industry that keeps on wasting roles on the likes of Ju JingYi or Yang ChaoYue meanwhile actresses like He LanDou or He Xuan Lin have been shunned for years to the point of being stuck in short dramaland -He Lan Dou has started and work in VSD this year-, deserves the vortex winter it is getting.
Zhao Lusi is tapping into different types of projects, singing, dancing, producing.. I am guessing, investors are still cautious about investing in her high budget long dramas. But these projects will help her gain other experience.
I love the short dramas these past few years and know them better than the trads. Can’t wait to see LuSi’s newest venture.
The theme ressemnles a little bit that one dark fantasy short drama’s starring Zhang JinYi and Zhang HongMin or that one’s with YuYin and Zhang Chi
Yes it does. Zhang Chi, one of my faves!
I love Zhang Chi too…he has good career potential . He can be in movies..I am looking forward to his career develop and growth.
@HL This boy is interesting. I like that he tries and push himself to be a versatile actor. And his fandom in China is non-negligeable
@Sirey, I have enjoy a few short dramas with really solid acting. Some of the actors,actress are not model height but their acting draws us into the dramas. Zhang Chi is one of few I really like. He is much better than many ‘A-list’ actors, he is still young and has potential to be better. Liu Xiaoxu, Wang Kaimu, Chen Si are few I like.
@HL yeah ! Personally I like Zhang Chi , Zeng Hui is cool in those male-dominated drama -I heard good things about his recent one with Zhen Ziqi another actor I kinda follow- , Yang PengCheng who even though he is still so young and green has got an interesting bodywork in term of subjects variety , I also like some of Chen Si and Wang YiRan and Chen Tian Xiang’s works etc… Honestly I wish capitalists had stayed away from the Short drama scene, because once they got in after seeing the market thrive, they started heavily pushing for AI dramas to cut on production cost and also, in my opinion, prevent more aspiring and newbie actors with no connection at all, to be able to make it through an alternative way without their (capitalists) push.
Crew working without pay??? A cut AFTER operating costs??? I have a hard time believing that is the true situation. First off, who can afford to do that? Okay, the actors may be able to do it, as they can get an advance from their agency. But the guy setting up lights? The guy holding the mic / boom? Absolutely not. And anyone with a brain should know that magical book keeping will occur to make sure there isn’t a profit to share, that’s if this is even successful. And what drama or film has the crew done promotions??? This sounds like Zhao Lusi’s newest PR mess.
is she herself not getting any offers hence why she had to become producer for short dramas now
No, it doesn’t prove anything like that. Do you really think someone like her can finance a proper long drama? Let’s be real. This too is just a stunt because she is soft banned and it’s getting harder and harder to pull the wool over fans’ eyes.
Such a shame while long dramas continue to cast those who can’t act or look like aunties! lol. Not a fan of short dramas anyway!
Good for her, short dramas are very profitable. And there are really good ones being made in China….Lusi bought bunch of scripts for long drama too. I like how she always finds a way for herself. Resilience is an asset she has in abundance. Good luck to her. Hope she attains success as producer too. She single handedly helped production crew during Hidden Love too. People underestimate her abilities. This girl does not give up easily.
So, she had the money to buy alot of scripts, but she doesn’t have money to pay the cast and crew up front?
@prettyautumn — Maybe vertical dramas are filmed in 5 days, which explains a lot, but short dramas usually shoot for a month, at least the watchable ones.
I’m all for actors and directors and writers getting control of their work, and the present agency, capital, and investors system of control and interference going the way of the dodo. But I don’t think not paying the cast and crew is better, much less the solution.
It’s exploitation, plain and simple but there’s a reason why she is doing this with those connected to her. Nobody else would.
She is banned, something her fans absolutely refuse to admit and is desperately trying to keep relevant.
The idea that she can get a long drama financed, when she can’t even get a role as a high risk artist, is simply delusional.
It’s not too much of a side quest. I think she had gotten a taste of it with her involvement in helping to relieve Hidden Love of its preproduction struggles with funding. She contributed wardrobe, music, and cast members. Not feeling the whole not getting paid, though. Short dramas only take about a week to film, but that is still a week of work. Hope they got fed though!
I hope to see her in a mainstream drama soon.
Kudos to her for trying something, rather than just sitting on her a$s and waiting for investors to just hand her money. Being able to produce something behind the scenes is where the real power of the entertainment industry is at. I applaud her efforts and hope she is successful, at the same time I’m dreading that this takes off because I can easily see how this template in the hands of wrong people can easily lead to exploitation. God forbid that you ask for upfront pay as a cast or crew member if the norm becomes wait and see if the drama does well… It’s ok for a one-off project for a friend or family, but I hope it ends there.